Crap.

For some reason I was talking to my grandmother about weight loss methods. I mentioned the pill Alli and how it works. I half heartedly suggested that my overweight uncle should give it a try, since obviously the diet he's perpetually starting "tomorrow" isn't cutting it. And that clearly he's letting himself cheat more than he should be.

Today my grandmother started asking me all these questions about Alli again. Would it be considered a supplement, vitamin, etc? Where would one find it? How do you spell it? As she asked all this I was assuming she was thinking about buying it for my uncle, but I decided to confirm this. NOPE. She wants to use it herself.

For those of you would don't know how Alli works: dietary fat is blocked from being absorbed and is excreted with feces. This can often lead to oily (read as: explosive) bowel movements, increased frequency, etc. It's really more of a behavioral modification tool. It's to get people to stop eating too much fat because otherwise they're going to shit their brains out.

I never meant to suggest this to my grandmother. I had no idea she would consider this for herself. I should have known better. I'm trying to think of a way to tell her not to do this. If she was one of my patients I wouldn't have an issue with this, but when it's my grandmother I feel condescending. I think I'm just going to be a straight shooter with her and tell her the gory details. I have told her the possible side effects, but I don't think she's following me. She has a hard time following me on most things.

What a literally shitty situation.